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Garlic is also good against many insects. One of the most effective things you can do is to to plant a multi- culture, growing plants that the local bugs really like near the plants you like. Spray garlic and pepper on your plants. This way the bugs stay away from yours and eat the others. This also attracts a lot of praying mantis, lady bugs and other good insects.

Another very good repellent is "juice" made from dead insects. This is also good fertilizer. But really, really stinks.

And yes, always wear gloves :)

If you should get some of this hot pepper juice or spray on your skin, rub the area with human hair, and then wash thoroughly. (Then wash your hair, of course.) Don't ask me why this works, or how, but I had a similar experience and that was the remedy a Mexican lady gave me. It worked to take the worst of the burning out of my face and hands, though complete relief took at least 48 hours.

The best hot pepper solution I've found is a combination of the peppers (make a strong infusion of dried ground pepper or use fresh), garlic and a little dish soap. If you use the blended bugs, don't put anything else in with it. Part of the benefit of that spray is the bug diseases it spreads, so anything that kills bacteria would inhibit that. Garden bugs don't carry bacteria that will affect humans, for the most part.

Whatever you use for sprays, be sure to run them through a coffee filter so your sprayer won't clog up. Mix fresh for each spraying too, since if they ferment or spoil, they will be less effective and may damage the plants themselves.

I've had excellent results with all kinds of companion planting, and my gardens always are a riot of flowers, herbs and vegetables in a totally random tangle. I don't do "rows" much, having much better results with clumps of this and that throughout the garden.

Some of my favorite combinations are marigolds and basil with tomatoes, dill and coriander planted with beets, radishes or most any root vegetable, and onion sets planted at the foot of cucumbers or squash. The wild mix confuses the bugs and makes for an interesting garden besides.

You must be prepared for at least one of your gardening friends to accuse you of planting when drunk or badly hung over, however. LOL ML

From previous experience with less fiery peppers, I knew there’d be consequences of my sprinkling the concoction on by hand, but I was getting desperate to get the critters off, and I didn’t think the effects would be as long-lasting as they were! Ah well, it was a good lesson for the snolfs, and Snolf the First earned some extra money washing the dishes that night too.

Thanks for the other suggestions, Jorge and ML. How do you make the “juice” from other insects? Sounds like something the snolfs might enjoy. I seem to have found a good use for any unsprayed pesticide as well, since ML recommends it not be saved. The moles have taken an interest in the garden, and I don’t want to poison them, nor spend a lot of money on other deterrent methods. So, seeing a hole from them in the garden, after I was finished spraying I poured the remainder down the hole. I haven’t made my morning rounds yet, but I didn’t see any evidence of fresh holes when I walked by earlier today.